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Spain and Italy are popular tourist destinations, both offering unique experiences for visitors. Typically, people who are drawn to arts and culture are fond of these two destinations, with Italy also standing out for its gastronomy while Spain offers exquisite beaches.
However, for these destinations to emerge on the top for Schengen visa applicants, practical factors, such as rejection rates and appointment availability, often play a decisive role, Schengen.News reports.
According to statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo, Spain received more applications for Schengen visas in 2023 – a total of 1.4 million compared to the 1.1 million that Italy received.
Spain ranked third for receiving the most applications out of the Schengen states, and Italy ranked fourth.
Spain Was Among the Top 3 Recipients of Schengen Visas in Last 4 Years
Spain has increasingly become an important destination for Schengen visa applicants, especially standing out since 2020.
Every year, the country ranks second or third in the list for most visa applications received. For example, in 2023, Spain was the third country in terms of visa requests received, followed by Italy.
In 2022, Spain ranked second, while Italy was fourth, receiving 727,490 visa applications, with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering and impacting the application rates.
Visa application rates in 2020 and 2021 changed drastically as the COVID-19 pandemic hindered mobility, and travel restrictions were introduced globally.
In 2021, Spain ranked second for the number of applications received, while Italy fell to the sixth position. In the previous year, Spain had ranked second and Italy fourth, respectively.
Italy Was Replaced by Spain as a Top Destination for Schengen Visa Applicants After COVID-19 Pandemic
Italy was the third country among all of those that received visa applications, with over two million requests being filed in 2019 alone. However, after the pandemic, Italy received fewer applications, and Spain started receiving more applications, which caused Spain to become a more important destination for visa applicants.
Top applicants for Spanish Schengen visas mainly come from South American countries such as El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. On the other hand, Italy is a top destination for Bangladeshi, Libyan and Ethiopian nationals filing Schengen visa applications.
As per approval rates, Italy is way ahead of Spain, with the country approving between 86 and 92 per cent of all of the visa applications received over the years. In 2023 alone, Italy approved 87.5 per cent of the visa requests compared to Spain, which approved 77.4 per cent of visas.
Source: https://schengen.news/spain-vs-italy-which-countrys-schengen-visa-do-applicants-prefer/
